The 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix will be the eleventh round of the Formula One championship and the last race ahead of the summer break. As far as the tyres for this round are concerned, Hungaroring will use P Zero White medium, P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red supersoft: exactly the same selection that was chosen in Hungary last season, and the fifth time that this particular combination has been used in the first part of the 2017 championship (including at the last race in Great Britain). However, the Hungaroring track presents a big contrast to the Silverstone circuit: while it is another well-established permanent venue, it actually has some of the characteristics of a street circuit, such as tight and twisty corners, quite low grip, as well as contained average lap speeds. The weather can be extremely hot, increasing thermal degradation, which is one reason why the medium tyre is brought to this race, which takes place in Mogyorod, near Budapest.
Pirelli racing manager, Mario Isola, previews the next round of the Formula 1 season from the tyres management point of view: “The track was resurfaced in time for last year’s grand prix and it will be interesting to see the effect of this change one year on, as the new asphalt matures. We noticed last year that it was smoother and generally faster than the previous surface. The team’s tyre selections have leaned in favour of soft and supersoft, so we obviously expect that to form the basis of their strategies. Hungary is traditionally a race where strategy makes the difference, also because of the difficulty of overtaking, so the data collection process on Friday and Saturday should be even more important than usual with this brand-new generation of faster cars.” – Pirelli Racing Director Mario Isola said, as reported by the Italian media.
What to know ahead of the 2017 Hungarian GP:
• At the same time as the Grand Prix on Sunday, Pirelli’s biggest single race in terms of tyres supplied is taking place: the Spa 24 Hours in Belgium, using more than 10,000 tyres.
• Following the Hungarian Grand Prix, the second in-season test of the year will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday with all the teams expected. Within that test, Mercedes will run a car for one day to help develop Pirelli’s 2018 slick tyres.
• The weekend after Hungary, Pirelli’s European Rally Champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz will contest his home event, Rally Rzeszow in Poland, aiming to retake the series lead.
• Having passed the season’s halfway point, Formula 1 takes a break after the Hungarian Grand Prix, before resuming in Belgium at the end of August.
Hungaroring minimum starting pressures (slick tyres):
18.5 psi (front) – 17.5 psi (rear)
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